Pasta product and method for preparation thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to the field of food and nutrition. Especially it concerns improved pasta products. The new pasta product has improved cooking quality and in addition an improved health value due to added ingredients.

The present invention relates to the field of food and nutrition.Especially it concerns improved pasta products. The new product hasimproved cooking quart and in addition improved health value due toadded ingredients. The invention refers more closely to methods,products and uses according to what is defined in the preambles of theindependent claims.

Pasta products are currently consumed in increasing amounts, and thereis a growing need for good tasting pastas with high nutritional valueand high cooking quality. Pasta is easily made food and, consequently,it is in great demand in modern cooking, and also in institutionalkitchens.

Traditionally, pasta is made of durum wheat (Triticun durum), but alsosoft wheat (Triticum aestivum) is used. This pasta is mild tasting andlight yellow. Special pastas include different spices, colouring agentsand/or added fibres (e.g. more wholesome flour or fibre enriched flour).

The textural characteristics of pasta products play an essential role indetermining the final acceptance by consumers. The texture is much moreimportant in traditional pasta-consuming countries than e.g. taste orcolour. Textural characteristics can be defined as firmness,cohesiveness and elasticity, and they are directly related to cookingresistance. Stickiness of the surface is an unwanted characteristic.Cooked pasta should be “al dente” when eaten.

Pastas made of soft wheat have softer and less “al dente” structure thandurum pastas. The addition of larger amounts of fibre can break theprotein film on the pasta surface and thus the starch amylose canexudate out into the cooking water. Using soluble dietary fibres, suchas oat β-glucan, gives better cooking quality than using insolublefibres Marconi et al., Cereal Chemistry 77(2) 2000 pp. 133-139).Addition of β-glucan has a negative softening effect on the texture ofthe pasta. However, the negative effects of fibres can be improved togive reasonably good cooking quality when used together with addedgluten or other proteins (Gillmore et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,982;Marconi, Cereal Foods World 46(11) 2001 pp. 522-530).

Irrespective of the species of wheat used in pasta making, the cookingquality of pasta is very much dependent on the quality of wheat andwheat gluten. Addition of other cereals and/or dietary fibres tends toweaken the gluten matrix and to increase the amount of amylose leakingto the cooking water, therefore limiting the amount of fibre, which canbe used to enrich the pasta with.

The most important factors concerning the cooking quality of pasta arethe cooking loss and the texture of cooked pasta The stickiness of thesurface of the cooked pasta is closely related to the solubility ofstarch. During cooking the starch granules are gelatinised and swollen,and the amylose-part of the starch may exudate out of the granules intothe cooking water. Amylose can be seen microscopically on the surface ofcooked pasta. In 100% durum pasta a continuous protein phase can be seenon the surface of the pasta. Overcooking or addition of suchingredients, which lower or weaken the gluten content of pasta canaffect this protein phase and promote the exudation of amylose.

The effect of fat content of pasta flour to the cooking quality has beeninvestigated. Flour lipids form complexes with starch in the pastaextusion and/or drying process. Removal of lipids from pasta flourincreases the amylose content of the cooking water (Dahle and Muenchow,Cereal Chemistry 45(5) 1968 pp. 464-468). The effect of some added fatcomponents to cooking quality of pasta has also been investigated.Vegetable oils did not improve the cooking quality, neither did theydecrease the stickiness of pasta, whereas addition of certainemulsifiers, especially monoglycerides, decreased the stickiness andimproved cooking tolerance (Matsuo et al., Cereal Chemistry 63(6) 1986pp. 484-489; Rho et al., Cereal Chemistry 66(4) 1989 pp. 276-282).Monoglycerides have also been added to commercial pasta products,especially to institutional kitchen pastas, to increase cookingtolerance. The disadvantage of monoglycerides is that they are foodadditives, which are not acceptable in pasta products in the EU.

It is known that plant sterols, as well as esters thereof have serumcholesterol level lowering effects. Stanol fatty acid esters and theeffects thereof as well as a suitable method for their preparation, aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,045. Dietary intake of 2 to 3 g/day ofplant sterol equivalents is reported to lower the serum LDL levels inman by on average 10%-14%, thus reducing the risk of coronary heartdisease (CHD).

Dietary fibres contain insoluble and soluble substances. The insolublepolysaccharides include mainly cellulose and hemicellulose. The solublefibres include β-glucans (oat, barley), pentosans (rye), plantextrudates (gums, inulin), mucilages, legume seed gums, seaweedpolysaccharides, bacterial polysaccharides, resistant starch etc.

In the present invention it was surprisingly noticed that adding plantsterol esters improves the cooking quality and the firmness of pastaproducts. The improvement is especially important in pastas containingalso other cereals than durum wheat, and even more important inhigh-fibre pastas.

The pasta products according to the invention comprise plant sterolesters, or combinations of plant sterol esters and dietary fibres,preferably soluble dietary fibres from cereals or vegetables. Thecombination of plant sterol esters and dietary fibres can be used in anypasta products containing different cereals.

The present invention therefore provides improvement in sensoryproperties, such as structure and mouthfeel of pasta products,especially in pastas with high fibre contents. High fibre contents veryoften cause organoleptic problems in pastas. In the present inventionthe problem has been solved by addition of plant sterol esters tohigh-fibre pastas.

The present invention is characterized by what is disclosed in thecharacterizing parts of the independent claims.

The primary object of the present invention is thus a method forimproving the cooking quality of a pasta product comprising adding aplant sterol ester composition to a pasta dough or to any component ofthe pasta dough, comprising at least a cereal component and water,before conventional processing of the dough to a pasta product.

Preferably the plant sterol ester composition is sprayed to the cerealcomponent or part of the cereal component.

The secondary object of the present invention is thus a pasta productwith improved cooking quality, wherein the pasta product comprises onproduct dry weight 0.27-14.5 weight-% of a plant sterol estercomposition, 65.5-99.73 weight-% of a cereal component and 0-20 weight-%of an additive composition.

Preferably the pasta product has a water content of 8-30 weight-%. Andmore preferably it is a dry pasta product having a water content of 8-13weight-%, preferably 11-13 weight-%, and most preferably about 12weight-%. Another preferred embodiment is a fresh pasta product having awater content of 19-26 weight-%, preferably 21-23 weight-%, and mostpreferably about 22 weight-%.

Preferably, the cereal component comprises at least 4.0 weight-% ofdietary fibre calculated on pasta product dry weight.

Another preferred embodiment of the invention is directed to a pastaproduct, wherein the amount of plant sterol ester composition(calculated as sterol equivalents) is from 0.15 to 8 g and the amount ofdietary fibres is from 1 to 20 g per 100 g of the dry pasta product(moisture content 8-13 weight-%, preferably about 12%).

The third object of the present invention is thus the use of plantsterol esters in the preparation of pasta products for improving thecooking quality of the pasta product.

The fourth object of the present invention is thus an improved processfor preparing a pasta product the improvement comprising adding to apasta dough or to any of its components plant sterol esters, therebyobtaining a pasta product with improved cooking quality.

Preferably the plant sterol esters comprises at least 55 weight-% ofplant stanol fatty acid esters, preferably at least 85 weight-% and mostpreferably at least 95 weight-%.

A preferred embodiment is a process wherein the amount of added plantsterol esters is from 0.15 to 8 g (calculated as sterol equivalents) andthe amount of dietary fibres in the dry pasta product with a moisturecontent of 8-13 weight-%, preferably about 12 weight-%, is from 1 to 20g per 100 g, preferably at least 3.5 g per 100 g.

In another preferred embodiment of the process the pasta comprises atleast 4.0 weight-% of dietary fibres calculated on the dry weight of thepasta product.

The pasta products of the present invention contain a plant sterol estercomposition. The plant sterol ester composition can be added toconventional wheat pasta made of durum wheat. It can also be added topasta made of soft wheat or to mixtures of soft wheat and durum, or to apasta made of durum wheat and/or soft wheat together with darkerfractions of wheat flour, or together with other cereal flours, or to apasta as any of these but with additional dietary fibres.

The present invention provides a new type of food products, wherein thehealth value is improved. A combination of slowly absorbed carbohydratesand a plant sterol ester composition is realised in the pasta productsaccording to the invention. The invention also provides an opportunityto make more competitive pastas made at least partly of soft wheat orother cereals. The addition of a plant sterol ester composition to thepasta product improves the “al dente” texture and/or the mouthfeel i.e.the feeling of the surface of the pasta product.

All percentages referred to in this specification are given as weight-%if not otherwise stated.

As used here, the term “a plant sterol ester composition” includes plantsterol esters in an amount of at least 55%, preferably at least 85% andmost preferably at least 95%.

As used here, the term “plant sterol ester” refers to plant sterolshaving at least 55%, preferably at least 85% and most preferably atleast 95% of the plant sterols in esterified form.

As used here, the plant sterol esters include both sterols and saturatedsterols, i.e. stanois esterified e.g. with fat acids (2-24 carbon atoms,and being saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, including alsospecial fatty acids such as conjugated fatty acids, e.g. CLA, and EPAand DHA), hydroxybenzoic acids or hydroxycinnamic acids (ferrulic orcoumaric acids) or other organic acids such as e.g. di- or tricarboxylicacids and/or hydroxy acids, or with any combination of said acids.Preferred acids are fatty acids of a length of C12-C18 and mixturescontaining any of these.

In this specification the plant sterols include 4-desmethyl sterols,4-monomethyl sterols and 4,4-dimethyl sterols (triterpene alcohols) andthe stanols include 4-desmethyl stanols, 4-monomethyl stanols and4,4-dimethyl stanols. Typical 4-desmethyl sterols are sitosterolcampesterol, stigmasterol, brassicasterol, 22-dehydrobrassicasterol andΔ5-avenasterol. Typical 4,4-dimethyl sterols are cycloartenol24-methylenecycloartenol and cyclobranol. Typical stanols aresitostanol, campestanol and their 24-epimers, cycloartanol and saturatedforms obtained by saturation of e.g. itepene alcohols (cycloartenol,24-methylene-cycloartenol and cyclobranol). The plant sterols includeall possible natural mixtures or any blends of named sterols and/orstanols as well as any individual sterol or stano. Preferred plantsterols include sitosterol, stigmasterol, sitostanol and campestanol andmixtures containing any of these.

According to the invention the plant sterol ester composition preferablycomprises at least one plant sterol fatty acid ester. The plant sterolfatty acid ester is technically very suitable for incorporation intopasta products, and it is especially preferred as it has very goodorganoleptic properties, enabling production of the pasta products ofthe present invention with very good organoleptic properties. Preferablythe plant sterol ester is a plant stanol ester because its absorption isnegligible and the use thereof is therefore safer. Also the textureproperties of pastas containing plant stanol fatty acid esters areexcellent. Most preferred are therefore the plant stanol fatty acidesters for use in pasta products according to the invention. In apreferred embodiment the plant sterol ester composition contains atleast 55%, preferably at least 85%, and most preferably at least 95% ofplant stanol fatty acid esters.

The amount of the plant sterol ester composition may be 0.27-14.5% ofthe pasta product by dry weight, preferably 0.45-7.3 weight-% and morepreferably 0.9-5.4 weight-%.

The cereal component may contain one or more of the cereals chosen fromthe group consising of durumwheat, soft wheat oat, rye, barley, rice,corn, triticale, buckwheat, millet, sorghum cereal flour enriched withdietary fibres, wholesome cereal flour and mixtures of any of these.There may be 65.5-99.73% of the cereal component in the pasta product bydry weight preferably 82.7-99.5 weight-%, and more preferably 89.6-99.1weight-%. In a preferred embodiment the cereal component comprises onlypartly durun wheat, and in another embodiment there are no substantialamounts of durum wheat, i.e. not more than 5 weight-% of the cerealcomposition dry weight.

The additive composition includes taste delivering and colouringcomponents containing e.g. tomato, spinach or other vegetable or plantmaterials, or e.g. octopus, as well as traditional seasonings likespices or herbs. Also proteins from e.g. soybean or egg and vitamins andminerals may be included in the additive composition. The additivecomposition, if present, may include 0-20% of one or more of thesecomponents in the pasta products per dry weight, preferably 0-10%, morepreferably 0-5%. Often the pasta products contain no additivecomposition.

The process for preparing basic pasta consists of mixing a dough offlour and water in vacuum, pressing it through bronze or teflon-lineddies and drying at high or very high temperatures. With special dies andcutters pastas can be formed to desired sizes and forms. Therefore,pasta products can be long cut spaghetti or short cut pastas, or specialproducts, such as lasagne and tagliatelle. After forming the pasta isdried to moisture content of about 12% (varying between 8-13%,preferably 11-13%). This type of pasta is called dry pasta. Dryingmethods of pasta can be based on lower temperatures and longer time orhighertvery high temperatures and shorter time. Currently used methodsare based on higher temperatures, giving good cooking quality pastaswith strong surface characteristics. Pasta can also be fresh, whichmeans that the final drying step has been omitted. Fresh pastas are alsocooked before eating, but usually for a shorter time. The moisturecontent of fresh pasta is about 22% (varying between 19-26%, preferably21-23%).

The plant sterol ester composition can be added to the pasta dough atany stage of the pasta preparation process, e.g. at a late stage whenprocessing the dough It may also be added to the water or to theadditive composition. Preferred is though to add it directly into thecereal component by any known method, preferably by spraying. Theaddition is preferably accomplished by spraying the plant sterol estercomposition into the cereal or part of the cereal composition. Whenpreparing high fibre pastas the plant sterol ester composition issuitably sprayed into the high fibre part of the cereal component. Whenusing soft wheat it is also preferred to treat that with the plantsterol ester composition. The aim during the addition is to make assmall particle sizes as possible of the plant sterol ester compositionand spread the particles out on the cereal component as effectively aspossible.

By “dietary fibres” is here meant both soluble and insoluble dietaryfibres (e.g. fibre enriched material such as enriched flour, fibreconcentrates or purified flour). The dietary fibres include fibres ofcereal origin, such as wheat, oat, rye, barley, rice, corn, buckwheat,triticale, millet or sorghum, or they can be fibres from any othervegetable material, such as soy, potato, sugar beet, beans, peas,carrots, or of other plant origin, such as guar, pectin, psyillium,resistant starch, inulin, arabinoxylans or oligofructans, or ofmicrobial origin. Most important are soluble dietary fibres.

The amount of dietary fibres in the pasta may vary from 1 to 20%,preferably it is at least 3.5% in a pasta product with 12% moisture.This corresponds to 1.14-22.7% of dietary fibres calculated on pastaproduct dry weight, preferably at least 4.0%.

The improvement in the cooking quality was especially noticed in pastasenriched with whole-wheat flour (i.e. pasta products containing partlyor totally darker fractions of durum or soft wheat flour thanconventional pastas) or any flour of other cereals than wheat, or inpastas with other added dietary fibre. In all such high-fibre pastas thelevel of dietary fibres is from 3.5 to 20%, preferably 4-15% calculatedon a dry pasta preduct with a water content of about 12%, whichcorresponds to 4.0-22.7%, preferably 4.5-17.0% of dietary fibres onpasta product dry weight. In a fresh pasta (moisture content about 22%)the corresponding amounts of dietary fibres are 3.1-17.7%, preferably3.5-13.3%.

However, the improving effect on cooking quality was noticed also inplain durum pastas with an added plant sterol ester composition. Theimproved cooking resistance is especially important in case the pasta isovercooked. Overcooking includes all excess steps or “stress” conditionsthe pasta product is exposed to after optimal cooking according to theinstructions for the pasta in question (usually 8 minutes for dry pastaand 1 to 3 minutes for fresh pasta). Such situations occur ininstitutional kitchens when pasta is stored and/or transported as ready,i.e. is kept warm for long periods. Often pastas should be rinsed withcold water after cooking to receive an optimal mouthfeel. If this stepis omitted or defectively performed it might lead to an overcooked pastaas well as if the pasta is cooked for too long a time. Especially forpastas containing also some other cereal components e.g. soft wheat inaddition to durum wheat this improving effect following from theaddition of a plant sterol ester composition was emphasized.

In high-fibre pasta products with a moisture content of about 12% thelevel of dietary fibres in the product is from 3.5 to 20%, preferably4-15%, more preferably 5-8%. The amount of soluble dietary fibre in suchproducts is from 1 to 100%, preferably 1.5-6%, and more preferably 2-4%.These values correspond to 4.0-22.7%, preferably 4.5-17.0%, and morepreferably 5.7-9.1% dietary fibres calculated on pasta product dry weighand to 1.1-11.4%, preferably 1.7-6.8%, and more preferably 2.3-4.5%soluble dietary fibres calculated on pasta product dry weight.

The level of plant sterol esters (calculated as sterol equivalents) in apasta product with moisture content of about 12% should be from 0.15 to8%, preferably 0.254%, and more preferably 0.5-3% of the dry pastaproduct (moisture 121%). These values correspond to 0.17-9.1%,preferably 0.28-4.5% and more preferably 0.57-3.4% of the plant sterolester composition (calculated as sterol equivalents) calculated on pastaproduct dry weight. Furthermore, this corresponds to 0.24-12.80%,preferably 0.4-6.4%, and more preferably 0.8-4.8% of a plant sterolfatty acid ester composition (calculated as esters) in a dry pastaproduct with about 12% moisture, and to 0.27-14.5%, preferably 0.45-7.3%and more preferably 0.9-5.4% ofthe plant sterol ester compositioncalculated on a dry weight bases. A preferred embodiment of theinvention is a pasta product (moisture content 8-13%, most preferablyabout 12%) containing 3.5 to 20% of dietary fibre, whereof at least 1%,preferably 1 to 10%, more preferably 1.5 to 6% is soluble, and 0.25 to5%, preferably 0.4 to 4% of a plant sterol ester composition (calculatedas sterol equivalents). This pasta product has a good cooking quality,good organoleptic properties, contains slowly absorbed carbohydrates andhas also a cholesterol-lowering effect.

Another preferred embodiment of the invention is a pasta product(moisture content 19-26%, most preferably about 22%) containing 3.1 to17.7% of dietary fibre, whereof at least 0.88%, preferably 0.88 to 8.8%,more preferably 1.3 to 5.3% is soluble, and 0.22 to 4.4%, preferably0.35 to 3.5% of a plant sterol ester composition (calculated as sterolequivalents). This pasta product has a good cooking quality, goodorganoleptic properties, contains slowly absorbed .carbohydrates and hasalso a cholesterol-lowering effect

It was surprisingly also realised that the weight ratio of a plantsterol ester composition (calculated as sterol equivalents) to solubledietary fibre at arange of 1:0.4 to 1:5 gave an unexpectedly goodimprovement of the cooking quality of the pasta and/or an imnprovementin the health value of the pasta.

The main advantages of the present invention, achieved by combining thetwo ingredients, i.e. a sufficient amount of soluble dietary fibres andplant sterols into a pasta product, are:

-   -   improvement in the cooking quality of the pasta product,    -   improved organoleptic properties compared to high fibre pasta        without a plant sterol ester composition,    -   enhanced health value including both lowering serum total and        LDL-cholesterol levels and having slowly absorbed carbohydrates,    -   enhanced cholesterol-lowering effect compared to conventional        high-fibre pastas.

The two ingredients, soluble fibres and a plant sterol estercomposition, may be incorporated into the daily diet in the form ofpasta products containing a sufficient amount of the ingredients. Thecontent of the two ingredients in pasta is typically from 0.5 to 4 g ofa plant sterol ester composition (calculated as sterol equivalents) andfrom 1 to 4 g of soluble dietary fibre in 100 g of a pasta product witha moisture content of about 12%.

For plant sterol esters the intake is preferably about 1 g of plantsterol equivalents/day (from 0.5 to 2.5 g/day) divided into 0.5-5servings. For soluble fibres the intake is preferably about 2.5 gsoluble fibre/day (from 1 to 10 g/day) in 1-5 servings of pasta. Inpasta the level of ingredient is preferably 50% of the dailyneed/serving (from 10% to 200% per serving). One serving of pasta isusually defined as 70 grams of dry pasta (moisture content about 12%).

EXAMPLES

All pastas in the following examples were produced using a conventionalhigh-temperature pasta process (Pavan Mapimpianti/Italy;Termo-Active-System).

Example 1

Oat Pasta with Stanol Esters and β-glucans

Ingredients: 75% durum wheat flour 22% oat flour enriched with β-glucan 3% plant stanol fatty acid ester

The content of soluble fibre (β-glucan) of pasta obtained is 2.5 g/100 gand the plant sterol equivalent content is 1.8 g/100 g of dry pasta(moisture content 12%).

Example 2

Rye Pasta with Sterol Ester and β-glucans 71.5% wheat (durum or softwheat)   20% whole grain rye flour   6% oat flour enriched with β-glucan 2.5% plant sterol fatty acid ester

The soluble fibre content is 2 g/100 g and the plant sterol equivalentcontent 1.5 g/100 g of dry pasta (moisture content 12%).

Example 3

Rye Pasta with Sterol Esters 66.5% durum wheat flour   30% whole grainrye flour  3.5% plant sterol fatty acid ester

The soluble fibre content is 1.2 g/100 g and the plant sterol equivalentcontent 2.1 g/100 g of dry pasta (moisture content 12%).

Example 4

Wheat Pasta with Stanol Esters 55% soft wheat flour 45% durum wheatflour  5% plant stanol fatty acid ester

The plant sterol equivalent content of the pasta is 3 g/100 g of drypasta (moisture content 12%).

Example 5

Durum Wheat Pasta with Stanol Ester 97.5% durum wheat flour  2.5% plantstanol fatty acid ester

The plant sterol equivalent content of the pasta is 1.5 g/100 g of drypasta (moisture content 12%). The positive effect on the organolepticproperties of the plant sterol ester composition was recognised at aprolonged warm-keeping of the product. TABLE 1 Comparing of the sensoryand structure characteristics in the pasta products with and withoutplant sterols. (The marks given for surface and structure evaluation are1 (unacceptable)-5 (excellent)). Test products 1 and 2 were overcooked16 minutes and test products 3 and 4 were cooked for 8 minutes usingstandard cooking conditions. 1 2 3 4 Durum wheat pasta Durum wheatpasta + Oat pasta + β-glucan Oat pasta + β-glucan + (as Example 5, butstanol ester (as Example 1, but stanol ester without stanol ester)(Example 5) without stanol ester) (Example 1) Amount of stanol ester 02.5 0 3 (%) Appearance before bright, clear yellow, good brownish, darklittle bit more matt than 3 cooking yellow white and brown spotsAppearance after bright, good lighter yellow quite dark more greyishthan 3 cooking yellow than 1 Surface 3½ 4 3 3+ Good very good mediumgood medium good a bit sticky slippery a bit sticky not as sticky as 3Structure 4− 4 3+ 3½ Good good medium good more “al dente” than 3 softerthan 2 more “al dente” than 1 softer than 4

1. A method for improving the cooking quality of a pasta product comprising adding a plant sterol ester composition to the pasta dough to any component of the pasta dough, comprising at least a cereal component and water, before conventional processing of the dough to a pasta product.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plant sterol ester composition is sprayed to the cereal component or part of the cereal component.
 3. A pasta product with improved cooking quality, wherein the pasta product comprises on product dry weight 0.27-14.5 weight-% of a plant sterol ester composition, 65.5-99.73 weight-% of a cereal component and 0-20 weight-% of an additive composition.
 4. The pasta product according to claim 3, wherein the pasta product has a water content of 8-30 weight-%.
 5. The pasta product according to claim 4, wherein the pasta product is a dry pasta having a water content of 8-13 weight-%, preferably 11-13 weight-%, and most preferably about 12 weight-%.
 6. The pasta product according to claim 4, wherein the pasta product is a fresh pasta having a water content of 19-26 weight-%, preferably 21-23 weight-%, and most preferably about 22 weight-%.
 7. The pasta product according to claim 3, wherein the plant sterol ester composition comprises at least 55 weight-% of plant stanol fatty acid esters, preferably at least 85 weight-%.
 8. The pasta product according to claim 3, wherein the cereal component is chosen from the group consisting of durum wheat, soft wheat, oat, rye, barley, rice, triticale, corn, buckwheat, millet sorghum, a cereal flour enriched with dietary fibre, wholesome cereal flour and mixtures of any of these.
 9. The pasta product according to claim 3, wherein the cereal component comprises at least 4.0 weight-% of dietary fibre calculated on pasta product dry weight.
 10. The pasta product according to claim 5, wherein the amount of plant sterol ester composition is from 0.15 to 8 g (calculated as sterol equivalents) and the amount of dietary fibres is from 1 to 20 g per 100 g of the dry pasta product with a moisture content of 8-13 weight-%, preferably about 12 weight-%.
 11. The pasta product according to claim 5, wherein the pasta comprises 3.5 to 20 weight-% of dietary fibre, whereof at least 1 weight-%, preferably 1 to 10 weight-%, more preferably 1.5 to 6 weight-% is soluble, and 0.25 to 5 weight-%, preferably 0.4 to 4 weight-% of a plant sterol ester composition (calculated as sterol equivalents).
 12. The pasta product according to claim 6, wherein the pasta comprises 3.1 to 17.7 weight-% of dietary fibre, whereof at least 0.88 weight-%, preferably 0.88 to 8.8 weight-%, more preferably 1.3 to 5.3 weight-% is soluble, and 0.22 to 4.4 weight-%, preferably 0.35 to 3.5 weight-% of a plant sterol ester composition (calculated as sterol equivalents).
 13. The pasta product according to claim 3, wherein the amounts of the dietary fibre and a plant sterol ester composition are such that the dietary fibre is consumed at a rate of 1 g to 10 g, preferably 2 g to 5 g per day and the plant sterol ester composition is consumed at a rate of 0.25 g to 5 g (calculated as sterol equivalents), preferably 0.5 to 2.5 g per day.
 14. Use of plant sterol esters in the preparation of pasta products for improving the cooking quality of the pasta products.
 15. An improved process for preparing a pasta product, the improvement comprising adding to a pasta dough or to any of its components plant sterol esters, thereby obtaining a pasta product with improved cooking quality.
 16. The process according to claim 15, wherein the plant sterol esters comprise at least 55 weight-% of plant stanol fatty acid esters, preferably at least 85 weight-% and most preferably at least 95 weight-%.
 17. The process according to claim 15, wherein the amount of added plant sterol esters is from 0.15 to 8 g (calculated as sterol equivalents) and the amount of dietary fibres in the dry pasta product with a moisture content of 8-13 weight-%, preferably about 12 weight-%, is from 1 to 20 g per 100 g, preferably at least 3.5 g per 100 g.
 18. The process according to claim 15, wherein the pasta comprises at least 4.0 weight-% of dietary fibres calculated on the dry weight pasta product. 